Wastewater treatment system design

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the invention describe components to be utilized on the design, management and implementation of a wastewater treatment system. Said wastewater treatment system may include containers that, for example, may be consistent with ISO specifications for intermodal containers. In some embodiments, these containers act in concert to perform the same wastewater management function (e.g., the containers may function together as equalization basins). In other embodiments, said containers may each perform a separate function (e.g., some containers may function as an aeration tank while others container may function as a membrane basin), or may each perform a plurality of functions. Furthermore, said containers may form an independent wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), or may be utilized to augment a pre-existing WWTP (e.g., a WWTP according to the prior art).

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to Provisional Application No.61/402,861 filed on Sep. 7, 2010.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the field of wastewater treatment,and in particular but not exclusively, relates to implementing andmanaging wastewater treatment systems comprising modular basins.

BACKGROUND

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are utilized to process and purifywater from industrial operations and municipal sources. In currentimplementations, the capacity of a WWTP is not scalable and itscomponents are custom made for its source. As a result, a WWTP has to bedesigned to not only accommodate current demand, but any foreseeableincreased demand. This increases the cost required to design, constructand maintain the WWTP.

Efficient management and control of the WWTP requires a quick andaccurate assessment of the operational status of the system, requiringsignificant operator effort, which significantly increases operating andmaintenance costs. Furthermore, management of a WWTP has proven to be adifficult task in view of the unpredictable volume of materials andcontaminants that enter into treatment systems. Variations in thequantity of wastewater being treated, such as daily, weekly or seasonalchanges, can necessitate changes to a plurality of factors in thetreatment process—improper alteration of which can adversely affect thefunction of the wastewater treatment. Improperly treated wastewaterdischarged from a WWTP is a serious health hazard.

What is needed is a WWTP that can be dynamically configured and adjustedbased on real-time system demands and real-time operational status ofsystem components.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the invention aredescribed with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified. It should be appreciated that the followingfigures may not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a top-view illustration of a modular wastewater treatmentcontainer according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a plurality of modular wastewater treatmentcontainers included in a wastewater treatment process system accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an example configuration of a plurality ofwastewater treatment basins according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are block diagrams of a row of wastewater treatmentbasins according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a dynamically configurable and controllablewastewater treatment process system according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIGS. 6A-6C are illustrations of a dynamically configurable andcontrollable wastewater treatment container having a plurality of basincompartments according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a modular wastewater treatment containerincluding a plurality of basin compartments according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a wastewater treatment system design andmanagement process according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a wastewater treatment system design toolaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Descriptions of certain details and implementations follow, including adescription of the figures, which may depict some or all of theembodiments described below, as well as discussing other potentialembodiments or implementations of the inventive concepts presentedherein. An overview of embodiments of the invention is provided below,followed by a more detailed description with reference to the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of an apparatus, system and method to implement and manage amodular wastewater treatment system are described herein. In thefollowing description numerous specific details are set forth to providea thorough understanding of the embodiments. One skilled in the relevantart will recognize, however, that the techniques described herein can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details, or with othermethods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obscuring certain aspects.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, theappearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” invarious places throughout this specification are not necessarily allreferring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a top-view illustration of a modular wastewater treatmentcontainer according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In thisembodiment, intermodal container 100 is consistent with anyInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO) specification forintermodal containers (e.g., Technical Specification for Steel Dry CargoContainer, Spec. No. ITRU-40′-SA, Jun. 12, 2001)—e.g., container 100 maybe a steel dry cargo container ISO IAA type 40′×8′×8′6″ or 20′×8′×8′6″.In this embodiment, the interior of container 100 forms basin 110 (andthus, the terms “container” and “basin” is used interchangeably hereinto describe a similar structure). In other embodiments, a wastewatertreatment basin may be included in container 100, but said basin's shapeand volume may be independent of the dimensions of container 100.

FIG. 1 illustrates container 100 from a “top view,” thus illustratingside walls 120-123 and gravitational bottom (i.e., base) 130. It is tobe understood that references to “side walls” and “gravitational bottom”are used simply to distinguish the sides of the containers of theexample embodiment. In other embodiments of the invention, theorientation of a container including a wastewater treatment basin may besuch that a different side of the container is the “gravitationalbottom.”

Lining portions of the interior of container 100 with a corrosionresistant liner may form a basin to hold wastewater process material. Inthis embodiment, basin 110 is formed by lining the interior of container100 with corrosive resistant liner 150. Liner 150 may comprise at leastone layer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)or High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) liner. It is to be understood thatutilizing an ISO container and said liner material to construct awastewater treatment basin significantly reduces the costs of said basincompared to materials used in the prior art (e.g., concrete andstainless steel). In one embodiment, liner 150 may be coupled to steelgrommets (such as grommet 151), which are further fastened to the steelhooks (such as hook 152) on the inside of container 100. The steel hooksmay be welded to the inside of sidewalls 120-123 at the gravitationaltop of container 100.

Container 100 further includes inlet 160 and outlet 170. In thisembodiment, inlet 160 and outlet 170 are two circular holes cut intocontainer sidewalls 121 and 122, respectively, and the correspondingportions of liner 150 to accommodate inlet and outlet pipes 161 and 171.Thus, wastewater flows in and out of the basin 100 via pipes 161 and171. The inlet and outlet pipes may be secured to sidewalls 121 and 122of container 100 by welding flanged L shaped pipe rings (e.g., pipe ring173) to the interior and exterior of said container sidewalls.

It is to be understood that in other embodiments, an inlet and an outletfor the basin may be any opening that allows wastewater treatmentprocess material to enter and exit the basin. Furthermore, it is to beunderstood that the inlet/outlet of a basin may be a single access pointof the basin (e.g., an exposed portion of a gravitational top of a basinmay function as both an inlet and an outlet).

Inlet pipe 161 and outlet pipe 171 may each be an HDPE pipe. The HDPEpipes may be inserted into pipe rings and held in place in the piperings by attaching the HDPE flanges (e.g., flange 172) to the HDPE pipeusing socket fusion welding. HDPE flanges may be attached to a flangedpipe ring (e.g., pipe ring 173) with screws which may be collectivelyunderneath liner 150. The perimeter of inlet 160 and outlet 170 may besecured to their respective HDPE pipes using a rubber gasket and analuminium fastener (e.g., fastener 164) on the interior side of liner150.

Container 100 enables a modular design approach for a wastewatertreatment plant (WWTP) by subdividing said systems into smaller partswhich may be easily manufactured and transported. For example, in theevent increased capacity is desired, additional containers may beinexpensively added to meet the demand. Furthermore, WWTP componentsaccording to embodiments of the invention may be independently createdand replaced, thereby reducing the labor and costs associated withlifetime maintenance of a WWTP.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a plurality of modular wastewater treatmentcontainers included in a wastewater treatment system according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment, wastewater treatmentsystem 200 includes plurality of containers 201-294. Said containers maybe consistent with ISO specifications for intermodal containers asdescribed above. In this embodiment, containers 201-294 act in concertto perform the same wastewater management function (e.g., containers201-294 may function together as equalization basins, anoxic basins,etc.). In other embodiments, said containers may each perform a separatefunction (e.g., some containers may function as an aeration tank whileothers containers may function as a membrane basin), or may each performa plurality of functions. In some embodiments, containers 201-294 may beutilized to form an entire WWTP, while in other embodiments saidcontainers may augment a prior art wastewater treatment system.

In the illustrated embodiment, containers 201-240 are shown as being inan “online” state; for example, containers 201-240 may be configured toperform the function of an equalization basin, and thus are “online” toreceive wastewater input flow for system 200. Containers 241-294 areshown as being in an “offline” state; for example, containers 241-294are configured so they cannot receive wastewater input flow for system200. In other words, as illustrated in this example containers 201-294may represent the potential capacity of system 200, but system 200 hasan actual capacity represented by containers 201-240.

A control module or logic may monitor the wastewater input (i.e.,influent) flow of system 200, and determine whether the capacity ofonline containers 201-240 is higher than the input flow; if the inputflow is higher, some of offline-basins 241-294 are brought online toincrease the operational capacity of system 200. Thus, the expansion ofsystem 200 may be incremental, with no additional construction to theWWTP required. The control module or logic may configure the capacity ofsystem 200 in response to any system level event or operating parameterthat may require the operational capacity of system 200 to be increased,such as a significant increase in input flow, changes to theinput/output water quality of system 200, a determination that at leastone of online containers 201-240 is malfunctioning, overflow/underflowconditions, etc.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an example configuration of a plurality ofwastewater treatment basins according to an embodiment of thedisclosure. In this embodiment, wastewater treatment system 300A asshown in FIG. 3A includes row of basins 320-399, having a subset ofonline basins (shown to include basins 320, 321 and 322) and a subset ofoffline basins (shown to include basins 397, 398 and 399). Said basinsperform the same function (or functions) and are coupled inparallel—i.e., each of the basins receives wastewater input in parallelfrom inlet 310. This configuration allows for parallel processing of thewastewater input, as well as a relatively short water path (as comparedto embodiments of the invention having basins coupled in series, asdescribed below).

In this example, control logic of system 300 determines that onlinebasin 322 is malfunctioning; thus the basin is brought offline, as shownin wastewater treatment system 300B of FIG. 3B. In this embodiment, thefailure of a basin does not affect the functionality of the wastewatertreatment system, due to the redundancy of the remaining online basins(shown as basins 320 and 321). Thus, basin failures are isolated so asto not affect functional basins. If control logic determines that theoperational capacity of the remaining online basins is insufficient toprocess the volume of wastewater input 310, then offline basin 397 maybe brought online (as shown in FIG. 3B).

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are block diagrams of a row of wastewater treatmentbasins according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As illustrated inFIG. 4A, system 400A includes a row of basins coupled in series andperforming the same function (or functions). Said row of basins includesa subset of online basins (shown to include basins 410, 420, 430, 440and 450), and a subset of offline basins (shown to include basin 460).

In this embodiment, each of the basins of system 400 includes a highwater-mark (e.g., mark 455 of basin 450), to indicate that thewastewater input flow for the respective basin is higher than a“threshold level,” which may represent, for example, the capacity of thebasin, and “ideal” volume for the basin, etc. In other embodiments, abasin may also include a low-water mark to indicate that the wastewaterinput flow for the respective basin is lower than an operating capacityfor the basin, lower than an “ideal” volume for the basin, etc.

In this example, control modules or logic may determine that each ofbasins 410-450 contains a volume of wastewater that exceeds itsrespective watermark. In response to this determination, basin 460 (or aplurality of basins including basin 460) is brought online as shown insystem 400B. The volume level of basin 460 is shown as level 465 andlower is than basins 410-450. Control logic may not determine to bringadditional offline basins online until the level of basin 460 exceedsits watermark. In other embodiments, control modules or logic maydetermine to increase the amount of online basins based on operatingparameters such as changes to input/output water quality, basinmalfunction, etc.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a dynamically configurable and controllablewastewater treatment system according to an embodiment of thedisclosure. In this embodiment, system 500 includes a plurality ofmodular wastewater treatment basins, each executing a specificwastewater treatment function. Wastewater is routed through the variouswastewater treatment basins via routing subsystem 505, in any order asnecessary.

For the sake of clarity, the various components of wastewater treatmentsystem 500 are illustrated and described as individual basins. In is tobe understood that in other embodiments, each of the wastewatertreatment basins described below may each comprise a plurality ofonline/offline modular basins/containers operatively coupled to form adynamically configurable capacity (e.g., system 200 of FIG. 2).

In this embodiment, system 500 includes equalization basins 511 and 512,which is receives wastewater from an influent source (e.g., a collectionsystem). Equalization basins handle variations in flows from theinfluent source so that other wastewater treatment components may beconfigured to handle “average” flows, rather than “peak” flows. Usingthe modular basins described above, the effort and cost associated withadding additional equalization basins (i.e., equalization capacity) tosystem 500 in order to attenuate larger peak flows is minimal comparedto prior art solutions.

System 500 further includes anoxic basins 521 and 522. When anoxicconditions are desired, said anoxic basins may divert air away fromwastewater influent in order to execute an anoxic process (e.g.,de-nitrification of nitrates and nitrites). It is understood that airneed not be completely diverted when executing certain anoxic processes.For example, a minimum amount of air may be desired to assist in ananoxic process, so long as the air present under anoxic basins 521 and522 is not sufficient to support aerobic conditions. The anoxic processmay be, for example, thermophilic digestion, in which sludge isfermented in tanks at a temperature of 55° C., or mesophilic, at atemperature of around 36° C.

In one embodiment, a mixer is included in anoxic basins 521 and 522 tomaintain solids in the wastewater influent in suspension. Said basinsmay further include a submersible feed-forward pump to control the flowout of the basin to downstream aeration basins (described below) tomaintain internal recycle (e.g., 4 times the system influent flow). Asubmersible waste activated sludge pump may further control the wastingof solids from anoxic basins 521 and 522 to waste activated sludgebasins (described below) in order to maintain a desired mixed liquorsuspended solids concentration (MLSS).

System 500 further includes membrane bioreactor (MBR) basins 531, 532and 533. MBRs are used in wastewater treatment systems to improveactivated sludge wastewater treatment processes, combining bio-reactivetreatment processes with membrane separation processes. MBR basins531-533 use membranes to separate and concentrate the biomass byremoving wastewater (as opposed to using settling processes).Furthermore, said MBR basins may retain particulate matter, remove ahigh percentage of pathogens, and remove dissolved materials from thewastewater influent.

Membranes utilized by said MBR basins may be of any material (e.g.,synthetic or natural) or porosity determined based on systemrequirements (e.g., quality requirements of the effluent). For example,MBR basins 531-533 may utilize reverse osmosis, nanofiltration,ultrafiltration, microfiltration, or any other solid/liquid separationmembranes known in the art. Said membranes may be of any configurationsuitable for system 500 (e.g., sheet, hollow tube). In one embodiment,wastewater processed from MBR basins 531-533 is recycled back to anoxicbasins 521 and 522. Centrifugal permeate pumps may further strainpermeate from the wastewater, and transfer the permeate downstream to aultra-violet disinfection system (not shown) to discharge.

System 500 further includes aeration (i.e., pre-air) basins 541, 542 and543 to deliver a suitable amount of air into the wastewater influent topromote aerobic reactions (e.g., a reaction taking place in the presenceof oxygen) within the basins via, for example, air bubbles, compressedair streams, or any means to inject air into the wastewater influent.The contents of aeration basins 541-543 may be aerated and mixed toreduce the amount of time required for the aerobic reaction to occur andto reduce the level of foul odors produced by the reaction. The wasteactivated sludge (WAS) produced by aeration basins 541-543 may bereceived by WAS basin 551 for processing.

WAS basin 551 may execute any solids processing means known in the art.In one embodiment, WAS basin 551 is equipped with coarse bubble aerationfed from aeration blowers to prevent the wastewater in the basin fromturning anaerobic and emitting unpleasant odors.

Control sensors 560 and 565 monitor the operating conditions of thebasins of system 500, and may transmit sensor data to computer system570 for processing. Computer system 570 may execute the above describedwastewater treatment system control modules/logic to manage theoperation of system 500, bring certain modular wastewater treatmentbasins online or offline, re-route wastewater influent dynamically basedon updates to the configuration of the basins, etc.

In some embodiments of the invention, a wastewater treatment modularbasin may execute a plurality of wastewater treatment processes, and awastewater treatment system may comprise a redundant array of modularbasins (e.g., configured as shown in FIG. 2). Said basins may be broughtonline or offline, as described above, in order to increase a capacityof the host wastewater treatment system, or to change the quality of thewastewater effluent.

In some embodiments of the invention, to use less space and to treatdifficult waste and intermittent flows, a number of designs of hybridwastewater treatment containers may be utilized. For example, suchcontainer may combine at least two wastewater treatment stages into onecombined stage. For example, one type of system that combines secondarytreatment and settlement is a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Typically,activated sludge is mixed with raw incoming sewage, and then mixed andaerated. The settled sludge is run off and re-aerated before a portionis returned to the headworks. The disadvantage of the SBR process isthat it requires a precise control of timing, mixing and aeration. Thisprecision is typically achieved with computer controls linked tosensors. Such a complex, fragile system is not ideal for places wherecontrols may be unreliable, poorly maintained, or where the power supplymay be intermittent. In a multi-container configuration (i.e., a systemutilizing standalone wastewater treatment containers) each container mayhandle influent separately and if any individual container has afailure, on the detection of the failure the contents of the containercould be rerouted to an alternative (and fully functional) container tocompete its processing.

FIGS. 6A-6C are illustrations of a dynamically configurable andcontrollable wastewater treatment container having a plurality of basincompartments according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In thisembodiment, modular basin 600 includes a plurality of wastewatertreatment compartments, each executing a specific wastewater treatmentfunction.

In this embodiment, modular basin 600 receives wastewater from aninfluent source (e.g., a collection system) via headworks pipes 605 intoanoxic compartment 610. In some embodiments, at the start of thewastewater purification process there is a requirement to remove allsolids larger than a threshold value (e.g., 2 mm in diameter). Thisphase of treatment may be referred to as “headworks” processing. Thisprocessing may be executed in a standalone wastewater treatmentcontainer, or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer.

When anoxic conditions are desired, anoxic compartment 610 may divertair away from the wastewater influent via outlet 611 in order to executean anoxic process (e.g., de-nitrification of nitrates and nitrites).Modular basin 600 further includes weir 615 disposed between anoxiccompartment 610 and aeration compartment 620 (described below). In orderfor modular basin 600 to execute a plurality of wastewater treatmentfunctions, certain water levels may be maintained in various wastewatertreatment processing compartments. It is also desirable to takeadvantage of “gravity flow” in order to reduce the number of mechanicalpumps necessary to move water within the modular basin. Weir 615 may beutilized in embodiments of the invention to address this problem. In oneembodiment, weir 615 is an overflow barrier that forms a controlledwaterfall to alter the flow characteristics of wastewater transferredfrom anoxic compartment 610 to aeration compartment 620. In anotherembodiment, weir 615 is a modified pipe-weir. Said weir may be affixedto one of the interior walls of modular basin 600, and may be lower inheight or perforated with holes at the desired water level.

In the illustrated example embodiment, once anoxic compartment 610 isfilled, the water overflows into adjacent aeration compartment 620 viaweir 615. The wastewater remains at the weir wall height in anoxiccompartment 610 in perpetuity, while the water level in aerationcompartment 620 fluctuates as a function of the water coming into theanoxic compartment (i.e., wastewater received at input 605 of modularwastewater container 600).

Modular basin 600 further includes aeration (i.e., pre-air) compartment620 to deliver a suitable amount of air into the wastewater influentreceived from anoxic compartment 610 to promote aerobic reactions (e.g.,a reaction taking place in the presence of oxygen) within the basin via,for example, air bubbles, compressed air streams, or any means to injectair into the wastewater influent. Said aerobic reaction may reduce thebiochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and may further nitrify ammonia presentin the wastewater influent to nitrate.

In this embodiment, aeration compartment 620 utilizes a mixer and coarseaeration bubble diffusers; aeration is supplied to aeration compartment620 via positive displacement aeration pumps 621 to pump pipe air to thediffusers.

Weir 625 controls the flow of wastewater influent from aerationcompartment 620 to MBR compartment 630. Weir 625 may comprise anyembodiment similar to that of weir 615.

MBR compartment 630 executes both bio-reactive treatment processes withmembrane separation processes. MBR compartment 630 uses membranes toseparate and concentrate the biomass by removing wastewater (as opposedto using settling processes). Furthermore, said MBR compartment mayretain particulate matter, remove a high percentage of pathogens, andremove dissolved materials from the wastewater influent.

Membranes utilized by MBR compartment 630 may be of any material (e.g.,synthetic or natural) or porosity determined based on systemrequirements (e.g., quality requirements of the effluent). For example,said MBR compartment may utilize reverse osmosis, nanofiltration,ultrafiltration, microfiltration, or any other solid/liquid separationmembranes known in the art. Said membranes may be of any configurationsuitable for modular basin 600 (e.g., sheet, hollow tube). In oneembodiment, MBR compartment 630 utilizes polypropylene membrane filterscomprising 0.4 micrometer pores.

In this embodiment, MBR compartment 630 includes air blowers 631 toprovide aeration to the compartment to reduce BOD, convert ammonia tonitrate, and provide air scour to reduce fouling. Sodium hypochloritemay be pumped through the membranes of the compartment to preventfouling of the membrane filters, and aluminum and magnesium sulfate maybe fed into the MBR compartment to neutralize the pH levels of thewastewater influent.

Weir 635 controls the flow of wastewater influent from MBR compartment630 to WAS compartment 640. Weir 635 may comprise any embodiment similarto that of weirs 615 and 625.

WAS compartment 640 may execute any solids processing means known in theart. In one embodiment, pipe 641 transfers WAS from basin 600 forfurther processing (e.g., disposal, solids discharging, etc.) viaeffluent pipe 699.

Control compartment 650 may monitor the operation conditions of thevarious compartments of basin 600, and may collect and transmit sensordata, manage the operation of the basin, bring the basin online oroffline, etc. In this embodiment, liner wall 645 separates controlcompartment 650 from the wastewater treatment compartments describedabove.

The modular wastewater treatment basins described above allow forautomated WWTP system planning and construction. Each individual basinmay be uniformly constructed, stackable, and operable, enabling multipleWWTP system sites to have the same basin configurations, the samehardware, the same power and piping configurations, etc. Thus, a WWTPsystem site may be planned and designed based on a minimum amount ofoperating parameters.

As described above, in some embodiments of the invention a modularwastewater treatment container is to include a plurality of basins. Saidcontainers may utilize weirs to form these basins (alternativelyreferred to herein as “basin components.”) In order for a modularwastewater treatment container to include a plurality of basincompartments that separately perform a wastewater treatment function,certain water levels should be maintained in the various compartments.It is also desirable to take advantage of “gravity flow” in order toreduce the number of mechanical pumps necessary to move water aroundwithin the modular wastewater treatment container.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a modular wastewater treatment systemcontainer including a plurality of basin compartments according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment, container 700 includesfirst basin compartment 710 and second basin compartment 720, eachformed by the side walls of the container and by weir 750. Said weir mayfunction as an overflow barrier that forms a controlled waterfall toalter the flow characteristics of wastewater transferred fromcompartment 710 to compartment 720.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, weir 750 is affixed to at least one of theinterior walls of container 700, and is lower in height that the sidesof the container to allow water to flow over the weir. In otherembodiments, a weir may be perforated with holes at the desired waterlevel (e.g., as illustrated by alternative weir 760 having flow means765) to transfer wastewater material between compartments.

In this example, weir 750 is disposed perpendicular to the base ofcontainer 700. In other embodiments, said weir may be disposed offsetfrom perpendicular to the base of container 700. Compartments 710 and720 may execute the same wastewater treatment function or differentfunctions—e.g., wherein the function of compartment 720 is dependent ofthe processing performed by compartment 710. In this embodiment,container 700 further includes control compartment 790 formed fromsealed basin wall 780. In some embodiments of the invention, awastewater treatment modular container includes multiple weirs (e.g.,container 600 illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C).

Thus, basin compartments 710 and 720 may each perform any of thewastewater treatment processes described above (e.g., equalization,anoxic, MBR, aerobic, WAS). Furthermore, influent pre-treatment mayinclude a sand or grit channel or chamber where the velocity of theincoming wastewater is adjusted to allow the settlement of sand, grit,stones, and broken glass. These particles may be removed to preventdamage to container pumps and other equipment. This pre-treatment may beexecuted in a standalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments ofcontainer 700 of FIG. 7)

In some embodiments of the invention, fat and grease is removed bypassing the wastewater influent through a basin or compartment whereskimmers collect the fat floating on the surface. Air blowers in thebase of the tank may also be used to help recover the fat as a froth.This removal process may be executed in a standalone wastewatertreatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated ina multi-function wastewater treatment container (e.g., incorporated intoone of the basin compartments of container 700 of FIG. 7).

In some embodiments of the invention, secondary treatment processes areexecuted to settle out the biological floc or filter material through asecondary clarifier and to produce sewage water containing low levels oforganic material and suspended matter. This treatment process may beexecuted in a standalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments ofcontainer 700 of FIG. 7).

For embodiments of the invention utilized to treat industrialwastewaters, biological oxidation processes use oxygen (or air) andmicrobial action. Surface-aerated basins or compartments may achieve 80to 90 percent removal of BOD with retention times of, for example, 1 to10 days. Said basins or compartments may range in depth from 1.5 to 5.0meters and use motor-driven aerators floating on the surface of thewastewater. These biological oxidation processes may be executed in astandalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG.1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatment container(e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments of container 700of FIG. 7).

Trickling filter beds may be used where the settled sewage liquor isspread onto the surface of a bed made up of coke (i.e., carbonizedcoal), limestone chips or specially fabricated plastic media. Such mediamay have large surface areas to support the biofilms that form. Theliquor is distributed through perforated spray arms. The distributedliquor trickles through the bed and is collected in drains at the base.These drains also provide a source of air which percolates up throughthe bed, keeping it aerobic. Filter beds may be included in a standalonewastewater treatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG. 1), orincorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatment container (e.g.,incorporated into one of the basin compartments of container 700 of FIG.7).

In some embodiments of the invention, Biological Aerated (or Anoxic)Filter (BAF) or Biofilters are used to combine filtration withbiological carbon reduction, nitrification or denitrification. A BAF mayinclude a reactor filled with a filter media. The media is either insuspension or supported by a gravel layer at the foot of the filter. Thedual purpose of this media is to support highly active biomass that isattached to it and to filter suspended solids. This biological aeratedfiltering process may be executed in a standalone wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., container 100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated in amulti-function wastewater treatment container (e.g., incorporated intoone of the basin compartments of container 700 of FIG. 7).

Rotating biological contactors (RBCs) may be utilized in someembodiments of the invention as mechanical secondary treatment systems,which are robust and capable of withstanding surges in organic load. Therotating disks support the growth of bacteria and micro-organismspresent in the sewage, which break down and stabilize organicpollutants. This rotating biological contactor process may be executedin a standalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container 100 ofFIG. 1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments ofcontainer 700 of FIG. 7).

In some embodiments of the invention, tertiary treatment is executed inthe latter states of the wastewater treatment process to raise theeffluent quality before it is discharged to the receiving environment(e.g., sea, river, lake, ground, etc.). More than one tertiary treatmentprocess may be used at any treatment plant. If disinfection ispracticed, this may be the final process (and may be referred to as“effluent polishing.”) Furthermore, disinfection in the treatment ofwastewater may be executed to substantially reduce the number ofmicroorganisms in the water to be discharged back into the environment.Common methods of disinfection include ozone, chlorine, ultravioletlight, or sodium hypochlorite. These processes may be executed in astandalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG.1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatment container(e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments of container 700of FIG. 7).

Sand filtration may be utilized to remove much of the residual suspendedmatter. Filtration over activated carbon (also called carbon adsorption)removes residual toxins. This filtration process may be executed in astandalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG.1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatment container(e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments of container 700of FIG. 7).

The removal of nitrogen is effected through the biological oxidation ofnitrogen from ammonia (nitrification) to nitrate, followed bydenitrification, the reduction of nitrate to nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gasis released to the atmosphere and thus removed from the wastewaterinfluent. Nitrification itself is a two-step aerobic process, each stepfacilitated by a different type of bacteria. The oxidation of ammonia(NH3) to nitrite (NO2-) is most often facilitated by Nitrosomonas(referring to the formation of a nitroso functional group). Nitriteoxidation to nitrate (NO3-), though traditionally believed to befacilitated by Nitrobacteria. (nitro referring the formation of a nitrofunctional group), is now known to be facilitated in the environmentalmost exclusively by Nitrospira. This nitrogen removal process may beexecuted in a standalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments ofcontainer 700 of FIG. 7).

In some embodiments, phosphorus removal is used to limit nutrients foralgae growth in fresh water systems. Phosphorus may be removedbiologically in a process called enhanced biological phosphorus removal.In this process, specific bacteria, called polyphosphate accumulatingorganisms (PAOs) are selectively enriched and accumulate largequantities of phosphorus within their cells. Phosphorus removal can alsobe achieved by chemical precipitation, usually with salts of iron (e.g.ferric chloride), aluminum (e.g. alum), or lime. These phosphorousremoval set of processes may be executed in a standalone wastewatertreatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated ina multi-function wastewater treatment container (e.g., incorporated intoone of the basin compartments of container 700 of FIG. 7).

Odors emitted by sewage treatment are typically an indication of ananaerobic or “septic” condition. Early stages of processing tend toproduce smelly gases, with hydrogen sulfide being the most common ingenerating complaints. Large process plants in urban areas often treatthe odors with carbon reactors, a contact media with bio-slimes, smalldoses of chlorine, or circulating fluids to biologically capture andmetabolize the obnoxious gases. Other methods of odor control exist,including addition of iron salts, hydrogen peroxide, calcium nitrate,etc. to manage hydrogen sulfide levels. This odor control process may beexecuted in a standalone wastewater treatment container (e.g., container100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated in a multi-function wastewater treatmentcontainer (e.g., incorporated into one of the basin compartments ofcontainer 700 of FIG. 7).

In some embodiments, a dewatering process is executed to remove thewater from sludge. Dewatering can be characterized as the process ofnatural or mechanical removal of water from sludge during which sludgeis losing its fluidity, becomes a damp solid and can be transported inbulk. The dewatering process may be executed in a standalone wastewatertreatment container (e.g., container 100 of FIG. 1), or incorporated ina multi-function wastewater treatment container (e.g., incorporated intoone of the basin compartments of container 700 of FIG. 7).

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a wastewater treatment system design andmanagement process according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Flowdiagrams as illustrated herein provide examples of sequences of variousprocess actions. Although shown in a particular sequence or order,unless otherwise specified, the order of the actions can be modified.Thus, the illustrated implementations should be understood only asexamples, and the illustrated processes can be performed in a differentorder, and some actions may be performed in parallel. Additionally, oneor more actions can be omitted in various embodiments of the invention;thus, not all actions are required in every implementation. Otherprocess flows are possible.

Process 800 generates a wastewater treatment system design includingmodular wastewater treatment containers in response to receiving ordetermining a capacity value desired for the system, 810. Expectedoperating parameters may also be used to design the system, 820. In thisexample, said operating parameters include effluent quality andmechanical specifications of the modular basins. In other embodiments,said operating parameters may or may not include these operatingparameters.

Given a certain number of modular wastewater treatment basins to beutilized, it is determined whether the capacity of the basins is greaterthan the expected influent flow of the system, 830, in order to ensureactual operating capacity is greater than the expected flow. If thecapacity is not greater than the expected input flow, a plurality ofoffline basins is to be added to the system in order to increasecapacity, 840. Otherwise, it is determined whether the number of basinswill produce wastewater effluent that meets or exceeds the desiredwastewater effluent quality, 850, or the designed system mechanicalspecifications, 860. Offline basins are added to the system, 830, untilthese operating parameters are satisfied.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a wastewater treatment system design toolaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure. In this embodiment, designmodule or logic 900 includes modular basin detail generator 910, whichmay determine the various sizes of the modular basins to be utilized,the functionality of the basins to be utilized (e.g., whether saidbasins should be single function or multi-function basins), etc. In thisembodiment, modular basins executing a single wastewater treatmentprocess are to be utilized.

Plant summary generator 920 may determine the layout and size of thetarget WWTP, based on the desired operating parameters of the system.Bill of Materials generator 930 determines what the cost of the requiredmodular basins and materials needed outside of the modular basins (e.g.,routing piping), and generates detailed bill of materials 970.

Computer generation module 940 generates computer model specificationsfor individual modular basins, 950, and the WWTP layout 960. In thisembodiment, WWTP layout 960 includes computer generated model of thesite plan 961, cross sectional view of the site plan 962, top view ofthe site plan 963, and isometric view of the site plan 964. Detailedcomputer generated model 950 generates anoxic basin detailed models 951(e.g., cross-sectional, top view and isometric views of the anoxicbasins to be utilized), pre-air basin models 952, etc.

The various models and details described above are generated into siteplan 980. Thus, an entire WWTP system model and associated costprojections may be generated based on expected operating requirementsfor any site location of the WWTP.

Various components referred to above as processes, servers, or toolsdescribed herein may be a means for performing the functions described.Each component described herein includes software or hardware, or acombination of these. Each and all components may be implemented assoftware modules, hardware modules, special-purpose hardware (e.g.,application specific hardware, ASICs, DSPs, etc.), embedded controllers,hardwired circuitry, hardware logic, etc. Software content (e.g., data,instructions, configuration) may be provided via an article ofmanufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer or machinereadable storage medium, which provides content that representsinstructions that can be executed. The content may result in a computerperforming various functions/operations described herein.

A computer readable non-transitory storage medium includes any mechanismthat provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a formaccessible by a computer (e.g., computing device, electronic system,etc.), such as recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., read only memory(ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, opticalstorage media, flash memory devices, etc.). The content may be directlyexecutable (“object” or “executable” form), source code, or differencecode (“delta” or “patch” code). A computer readable non-transitorystorage medium may also include a storage or database from which contentcan be downloaded. Said computer readable medium may also include adevice or product having content stored thereon at a time of sale ordelivery. Thus, delivering a device with stored content, or offeringcontent for download over a communication medium may be understood asproviding an article of manufacture with such content described herein.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention,including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention aredescribed herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications arepossible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize.

These modifications can be made to the invention in light of the abovedetailed description. The terms used in the following claims should notbe construed to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification. Rather, the scope of the invention is tobe determined entirely by the following claims, which are to beconstrued in accordance with established doctrines of claiminterpretation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a plurality ofwastewater treatment basins, wherein each of the plurality of wastewatertreatment basins comprises a modular removable basin comprising aplurality of compartments, including: a membrane bioreactor (MBR)compartment; a waste activated sludge (WAS) compartment; and a controlcompartment comprising circuitry to collect and transmit sensor datafrom the plurality of compartments of the respective basin indicatingthe functionality of the compartments, and circuitry to manage operationof the respective basin, including circuitry to bring the respectivebasin online and offline; a wastewater system configuration controllerto: receive sensor data from each of the plurality of wastewatertreatment basins; determine a potential processing capacity of awastewater treatment system having the plurality of wastewater treatmentbasins based, at least in part, on a capacity of each of the pluralityof wastewater treatment basins to receive wastewater input and thereceived sensor data; and determine a system configuration for thewastewater system based, at least in part, on at least one targetoperational parameter for the wastewater treatment system, wherein theat least one target operational parameter includes a quality level for awastewater effluent of the wastewater treatment system, and the systemconfiguration is to define a subset of the plurality of wastewatertreatment basins to receive wastewater input; a network interface toreceive the at least one target operational parameter for the wastewatersystem and to transmit the system configuration for the wastewatersystem for the wastewater system to dynamically adjust the configurationof the wastewater treatment system during runtime of the wastewatertreatment system; and a storage device to store the received targetoperational parameter for the wastewater system.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the at least one target operational parameter furthercomprises an expected wastewater influent flow of the wastewatertreatment system.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least onetarget operational parameter further comprises a value of the volume tobe occupied by the wastewater treatment system.
 4. The system of claim1, the wastewater system configuration module to further: identify theremaining plurality of wastewater treatment basins as offline wastewatertreatment basins.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofwastewater treatment basins further includes a subset of wastewatertreatment basins to be operatively coupled in series.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein each of the plurality of wastewater treatment basins inthe subset of wastewater treatment basins to be operatively coupled inseries is to receive approximately the same amount of wastewater inputduring runtime of the wastewater treatment system.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein each of the wastewater treatment basins comprises acontainer consistent with an International Organization forStandardization (ISO) specification for intermodal containers; a basinincluded in the container, the basin to include a base and a pluralityof side walls; a corrosion resistant liner coupled to interior portionsof each of the base and side walls of the basin; an inlet to receive atleast a portion of the wastewater input flow into the basin; and anoutlet to output wastewater treatment discharge from the basin.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wastewater treatment basinsfurther include: a headworks processing compartment; an aerationcompartment.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the potential processingcapacity of the wastewater treatment system comprises a potentialsequencing batch reactor (SBR) processing capacity of the wastewatertreatment system utilizing the MBR and WAS compartments of the pluralityof wastewater treatment basins.
 10. A method comprising: providing aplurality of wastewater treatment basins, each of the plurality ofwastewater treatment basins comprising a modular removable basincomprising a plurality of compartments, including: a membrane bioreactor(MBR) compartment; a waste activated sludge (WAS) compartment; and acontrol compartment comprising circuitry to collect and transmit sensordata from the plurality of compartments of the respective basinindicating the functionality of the compartments, and circuitry tomanage operation of the respective basin, including circuitry to bringthe respective basin online and offline; receiving sensor data from eachof the plurality of wastewater treatment basins; determining a potentialprocessing capacity of a wastewater treatment system having theplurality of wastewater treatment basins based, at least in part, on acapacity of each of the plurality of wastewater treatment basins toreceive wastewater input and the received sensor data; determining asystem configuration for the wastewater system based, at least in part,on at least one target operational parameter for the wastewatertreatment system, wherein the at least one target operational parameterincludes a quality level for a wastewater effluent of the wastewatertreatment system, and the system configuration is to define a subset ofthe plurality of wastewater treatment basins to receive wastewaterinput; and dynamically adjusting the configuration of the wastewatertreatment system during runtime of the wastewater treatment system basedon the determined system configuration.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the at least one target operational parameter further comprisesan expected wastewater influent flow of the wastewater treatment system.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one target operationalparameter further comprises a value of the volume to be occupied by thewastewater treatment system.
 13. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: identifying the remaining plurality of wastewater treatmentbasins as offline wastewater treatment basins.
 14. The method of claim10, wherein the plurality of wastewater treatment basins furtherincludes a subset of wastewater treatment basins to be operativelycoupled in series.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein each of theplurality of wastewater treatment basins in the subset of wastewatertreatment basins to be operatively coupled in series is to receiveapproximately the same amount of wastewater input during runtime of thewastewater treatment system.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein theplurality of wastewater treatment basins further include: a headworksprocessing compartment; and an aeration compartment.
 17. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the potential processing capacity of the wastewatertreatment system comprises a potential sequencing batch reactor (SBR)processing capacity of the wastewater treatment system utilizing the MBRand WAS compartments of the plurality of wastewater treatment basins.